Onuralp Bitim‘s rookie season is over, according to the Bulls, who announced today in a press release that the Turkish wing will be unavailable for the rest of the postseason.
Bitim has been diagnosed with a detached retina in his right eye and will require season-ending surgery to address the injury, per the team.
Bitim just completed his first NBA season after playing professionally for several years in Turkey. He made the All-EuroCup Second Team for Bursaspor last season, averaging 18.1 points and 3.2 assists in 18 EuroCup contests, before agreeing to come stateside to join the Bulls.
The 25-year-old began the season on a two-way contract but was promoted to Chicago’s standard roster in February and began to see some action at the NBA level around that time.
After making his NBA debut on February 22, Bitim ultimately appeared in 22 total games for Chicago, averaging 3.6 points and 1.5 rebounds in 12.0 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .381/.273/.800.
While he had a few impressive games in the second half, Bitim likely wouldn’t have seen much – if any – action for the Bulls in the postseason. Of course, Chicago’s postseason run may not extend beyond Wednesday, since the team faces a win-or-go-home play-in game vs. the Hawks.
Bitim’s contract features non-guaranteed minimum salaries for the next two seasons beyond this one, so Chicago will have the option of bringing him back at a team-friendly rate.
Didn’t see that coming